B.C. Mormons open temple to counter 'secretive' image

In a province in which a breakaway sect of Mormon fundamentalist polygamists in the Kootenays draws continuing controversy, the main line Mormon Church realizes it has to work hard to show its wholesome face to the world. That’s one reason patriarchs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are this month inviting the public to have a rare look inside the luxurious interior of their new temple in Langley. Up until now, the roughly 12,000 Mormons who live in B.C. have been gathering in scores of “meeting houses.” The temple in Langley — the seventh in Canada and 131st in the world (until now, the closest temple has been in Seattle) — has a decidedly special status. Many people harbour “misunderstandings” about the 13-million-member Mormon denomination, thinking polygamists “are a secret part of the church,” said William Walker, the top Canadian in the worldwide denomination. During a Wednesday tour through the church’s marble-clad temple, the first one built in B.C., Walker emphasized how mainstream Mormons officially banned polygamy in 1890. Because of a history of tense relationships with conventional Christians and the larger world, the U.S.-founded Latter-day Saints have been going out of their way in recent years to dispel outsiders’ suspicions that, as Walker says, they are a “secretive” religion. From Friday to April 24, the public will be allowed into the pristine, white interior of the temple at the corner of 82nd Avenue and 204th Street in semi-rural Langley. After May 2, when the temple will be consecrated, it will be closed to outsiders, virtually forever. After that, only Mormons judged worthy by the church’s elders will be allowed inside. “The temple is not secret. It’s sacred,” explained Walker. The faith’s most important rituals are reserved exclusively for temples, particularly “vicarious baptisms” and “eternal weddings.” They are much different from classic Christian rites. Walker showed a handful of journalists on Wednesday the extravagant indoor pool, built on the top of 12 sculpted oxen, on which living Mormons are baptized on behalf of deceased loved ones, so the dead can have eternal life. Walker also guided journalists to a small, 25-seat room reserved for “eternal weddings,” in which women and men are believed joined together in matrimony forever, including in an afterlife. In a 12-minute welcoming video to be shown to the roughly 50,000 people Walker expects to show up for tours of the temple, much emphasis was placed on the benefits of obtaining eternal life. The video featured idyllic landscapes, stirring music and Caucasian and Asian couples talking about how gaining assurance of eternal existence “gives us hope when we’re having challenges,” and ensures Mormons they don’t have to “worry any more.” Asked to respond to widespread beliefs among nonmembers that Mormons think only their church offers the keys to eternal paradise, Walker said it was one of the many “misunderstandings” Mormons want to clear up. The theological conflict over religious exclusivity has been just one of many that have faced the Mormon church since Joseph Smith, a young mystic, founded the church around 1830 in upstate New York. Smith taught that the mainstream Christian church had lost its divine authority in the second century. Smith’s “latter-day” revelations in the 1820s restored the “true” church, Mormons believe. The Book of Mormon, which Smith said he discovered at age 14 near his family’s farm, recounts how one of the tribes of Israel sailed in 600 BC to what is now the U.S., where they were visited by the resurrected Jesus. Such unorthodox doctrines, combined with Smith’s own polygamy, means Mormons have long been objects of Christian conversion efforts.John Stackhouse, professor of theology at Vancouver’s evangelical Regent College, said this week that Mormons have been trying for the past generation to take their place in the mainstream of American Christianity. The all-male Mormon leadership has revised the typography of church signs, for instance, Stackhouse said, so that “Latter-day Saints” is now much smaller than “Jesus Christ,” where previously the words were the same size. Mormon leaders have also run “advertisements presenting their religion as simply family-friendly American piety, [and] blessed dialogues between Mormons and their proselytizing rivals, evangelicals.” Most Mormons and most Christians continue to see the two traditions as different religions, Stackhouse said. “They use similar words — like ‘God’ and ‘Jesus’ and ‘salvation,’ but mean very different things by every one of them.” This long-standing religious competition came to a head last month when one of the most famous Mormons in North America, popular Fox TV political commentator Glenn Beck (left), told Christians to leave their churches if their clergy ever use the term “social justice.” Despite the outcry from Catholics and Protestants, Walker said Wednesday that Mormon elders are not attempting to rein in Beck. “He certainly doesn’t speak for the church,” Walker said. “Some Mormons would agree with him, and some wouldn’t.” For his part, Walker said the temporary opening of B.C.’s first and only temple to public viewing is one way that Mormons are making extra efforts to be “good neighbours

” to everyone. Even though Walker said the Langley temple was not being opened up to “proselytize,” he acknowledged he would not be unhappy if visitors seeking eternal life decided to eventually join the faith. The temple chamber that is most likely to inspire a conversion is called the “Celestial Room.” Mormons believe the all-white room literally offers a taste of God’s eternal paradise. The serene room, furnished with exquisite white couches under a high dome and an enormous chandelier, is to Mormons, according to Walker, “the most sacred place on Earth.”

I was not commenting specifically on Blair’s testimony. I did not re-read what he said but I remember that last time I posted I was impressed with Blair’s accuracy of the facts and statistics although somewhat dissident with his presentation and word choice. Using words such as “Required, pressured, cult, forced, brainwashed” I see it as demonizing the Mormon religion. He is trying to make it as strange as possible instead of trying to help people understand what it is. I just purpose that we try to understand the facts in the context of the believers. I am not addressing the validity of anyones particular statements, particularly Blair’s whose seem fairly based. Cheers!

If I drink coffee I am not practising the Word of Wisdom. If I am not practising the Word of Wisdom I am unable to obtiain a Temple Recommend withouth LIEING. If I am not able to obtain a Temple Recommend I can not do my ordinances. If I can not do my ordinances I can not reach the highest degree of glory in heaven. So does that make sense? What does drinking coffee have to do with reaching heaven? I think one day I might write a book on my experience with the LDS church. Though there are some good righteous people in the church, there is an equal number who are fake, liars, and lack common integrity. The lack of integrity and basics ethics found within this church I believe in part is based on the lack of teaching of ethics and intergrity and more of an emphasis of learning the stories of the Book of Mormon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti Mormon. Much of the doctrine is beautiful. And like any Mormon will tell you, the church is perfect but the people aren’t. Well its a cop out in my opinion. However if you enjoy chasing a carrot on a string and want to believe in the ‘promises’ the missionaries tell you, then this is the church for you!

When you get to talking to enough people who go to Mexico and are promised a free tour if they agree to attend a ‘welcome seminar’, you learn to avoid the seminar. Do I have first-hand knowledge of what goes on during these seminars? No. Do I need to attend one to get a clear idea what goes on there? Absolutely not. Blair’s testimony is pretty consistent with what I’ve heard over the years. Either there’s a huge conspiracy to discredit mormons or Blair’s testimony rings true. Can you tell us why we should believe it’s just a conspiracy?

Wow there are a lot of haters here. If you wish to know the religion ask them, they can explain things. Any belief system can be presented a way that seems ridiculous. Christians believe they practice cannibalism every week, by literally eating their dead God body and drinking his blood. How more cultish could you get! In science Abiogenesis claims that we originate from inanimate objects, from asexual to sexual. My point is not to discard religion, or disbelieve science or Abiogenesis but that you have to understand a topic in the context that it is in, otherwise you will never understand it, you may find that what you believed to be strange or illogical has roots and validity. Too many people read the biased claims of others, stop thinking and parrot those ideas promoting and spreading ignorance and perceived knowledge. Mormons are no more strange then other religions. We need to learn to live together and respect our beliefs, not cultivate ways to degrade them.

Wow ! Blair, that’s quite the story, and I do believe you. I worked with several Mormons over the years and, with about two exceptions, found them somewhat disagreeable. I did visit and take in the tour last week, and must say that it is a spectacular temple. I have to say that the tour was excellent but one would have to be quite thick not to pick up on the lobbying, although I must admit that it’s a softer approach. Saw this on PBS a few days before coming across this article, which got me to revisit my thinking – http://www.pbs.org/mormons/view/ – but, in reality I don’t believe it’s changed much. Thanks for sharing.

zorya, Thanks for your clarification; the Lavra is Orthodox, but Ukrainian Orthodox which is somewhat different from the Russian Orthodox. However, there was a time when the Ukrainians and Russians were almost one, and those Slavs were also referred to as ” Ruthenians “. Victor Skovorodnikov, You don’t know what you’re writing about. Ukraine was one of the first Eastern European countries, particularly during its short-lived independence in early 1900s ( prior to WWI ) which granted full religious, linguistic and cultural freedoms to its ethnic minorities living there. However, the mosque you refer to could have been from other times, as during historical travels many groups which lived there had left their mark; hence, the many influences, and not everyone is Russian just because you want it so.

Like millions of other unfortunate people, I was raised in cultic Mormonism from early childhood and systematically indoctrinated by the LDS Church during my formative years (Mormon ‘brainwashing’ from age 3 to 18). Obedience to what the Mormon Church wants and its so-called ‘prophets’ teach is mandatory before being allowed to enter any LDS temple as a church member, including the one in Langley, BC. Total, unquestioned obedience to the Mormon Church and LDS patriarchy is required, including handing over 10% of kids’ allowance and money gifts and at least 10% of teenagers’ and adults’ hard-earned income to the LDS Church. The Mormon temple in Langley cost millions of dollars to build. The LDS Church has tens of billions of dollars in assets, several corporations, water and mineral rights, commercial farms, a shopping mall in Salt Lake City worth $3 billion, a Rembrandt art collection worth millions of dollars, and other riches. Data on a 2009 church webpage indicates that the LDS Church uses less than 1% of its multi-billion-dollar annual income to help people in need. It has, however, spent millions and billions of dollars to increase its wealth over the decades. In the past 100+ years, the Mormon Church has become a rich religious-corporate empire. Even if you’re a poor single parent or a struggling student, to be ‘worthy’ of entering a Mormon temple and ‘righteous’ enough to go to the LDS version of heaven after death, you MUST pay tithing (10% of your “increase”, as mentioned). According to LDS doctrine, if you do not pay, you will not only be ‘unworthy’, you will be burned at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Mormons jokingly refer to tithing as “fire insurance”. At what age does the LDS Church start indoctrinating children to pay tithing? Six. Teenagers are pressured by their brainwashed LDS parents and local leaders to go to a Mormon temple to do ‘baptisms for the dead’, which requires the young people pay tithing. Mormon young men (age 19) are pressured to go on a mission for the LDS Church – and required to go to a Mormon temple first to receive their ‘endowment’, requiring them to pay tithing before they can get in. According to ‘true’ LDS doctrine, only Mormons who go through the temple and pay their tithing (and obey all other church teachings) will be ‘worthy’ enough to live with God and Jesus after death. If you don’t pay, forget it; you’ll be ‘eternally damned’. Mormonism is not only cultic, it’s elitist. The Catch-22 is that Mormons are repeatedly taught that their ‘eternal salvation’ depends on them participating in Mormon temple rites, but the church refuses to disclose to members details of what goes on in LDS temples. Why? Because the rites are not only un-spiritual, they’re bizarre! Hundreds of thousands of people have left the LDS Church because of its secrecy, authoritarianism, and lack of spirituality. What could possibly be offensive about LDS temple ‘worship’? Well, like millions of other Mormons during the past 100+ years, after I got to the temple, I was told to strip naked and put on a loose-fitting poncho that was open at the sides. Suddenly, a strange man entered the cubicle and proceeded to touch my naked body as part of the ‘washing and anointing’ rite. What a shock! As an obedient, ‘righteous’ Mormon, I was supposed to stand there and let a strange man touch me! And I was supposed to believe the LDS Church’s nonsense that what was happening was ‘spiritual’! Later, in the main endowment’ ceremony, Mormons were told to simulate slicing open their throats, chests and abdomens as ‘penalties’ if they divulged anything that went on in the temple. Bizarrely-dressed LDS women took an oath of obedience to their husbands. Latter-day Saints, including some I knew from southern Ontario, stood around an altar in weird temple outfits with outstretched arms, chanting “Pay Lay Ale”. Huh?! Again, all of what I witnessed – in a state of shock – was ‘spiritual’, according to the LDS Church and ‘programmed’ adult Mormons. A film of LDS ‘spiritual truths’ was shown in the temple in the main ceremony, and in it, an actor portrayed a Christian minister duped by Satan to be his servant. Talk about offensive! Also, Mormons had to demonstrate the ‘holy’ handshakes and repeat the ‘secret’ phrases that the church said they needed to know to get into the ‘Celestial Kingdom’ after death. According to ‘truths’ taught and shown in LDS temples, being a kind, decent person was not enough to merit returning to God’s presence after death. And it still isn’t. You need to know the ‘secret’ handshakes and phrases (they’re on YouTube)! What the LDS Church had known for generations but didn’t disclose to Mormons and potential converts was that LDS temple ‘worship’ was derived from Masonic rites, which Mormonism founder Joseph Smith, who married other men’s wives and teenage girls as young as 14 (young enough to be his daughters), ‘borrowed’/adapted from Freemasonry (adulterer/habitual liar Smith became a Freemason). There are several excellent websites that educate people about Mormonism, including LDS temple worship. Don’t be fooled by the multi-million-dollar opulence of the Mormon temple in Langley! If you’re considering attending the LDS Church or becoming a Mormon, do your research! There is a lot of well-referenced information on the Internet. The Recovery from Mormonism website (www.exmormon.org) and PostMormon.org website are also great online resources.

Polo, I hope you can take some comfort in the knowledge that the feelings and comments of the people in this blog are not necessarily an accurate representation of what people think in the ‘real world’. You will find that many people who gravitate to this blog tend to have some pretty extreme views. Some are based on ignorance. Some are just downrightly hateful. My personal view is that Mormons in the ‘real world’ have taken some public relation hits in the past. The same holds true for Muslims, Catholics, Sikhs, Atheists, etc. In many cases, the backlash is justified. However, one thing I believe to be true. Whatever backlash you notice in the ‘real world’ regarding a particular view/belief/event, expect to see it magnified by a factor of at least ten in this blog. Thankfully, this artificial reality can be shut down with the click of a mouse. I said it before and I’ll say it again. If this blog represented reality, God help us all.

Many of you think you are experts on Mormonism – get it straIght, YOU ARE NOT! What happened to respecting other people and their way of life or beliefs. Do Mormons threathen your way of life, your thought process or your very being? This is the reason why the world is spiraling out of control, we have forgotten how to respect each other and take care of those around us. Love thy neighbor as thy self!

Shelly……you wrote “According to the Bible, Jesus is not one of 3 gods in the godhead. The Trinity is 3 persons in one God. Jesus is God. There is only 1 God, but many false gods.” You quoted scripture and verse for all your other arguments except this one. How come?

Shelly This is a pet peeve of mine. Mormons do not believe that God had sex with Mary. That is a lie that bigots have created to denounce our faith. If you want proof of this, see 1 Nephi 11:19-20 (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/11/19-20#19). We do believe that Jesus is the literal genetic son of God yes, but not through sexual contact. We today have this ability through artificial insemination, and if we can do that, why can’t God? Heck, why can’t God have an even more advanced technique? With God, all things are possible. Most of your other arguments are just as fallacious. We don’t know if Jesus was married or not, we just know he had a special interest in Mary Magdalene. This sounds like you’re confusing the Book of Mormon with The Da Vinci Code. The statement that the events in the Garden of Gethsemane had nothing to do with the atonement just strikes me as weird. Why then did he suffer and bleed from every pore? (Luke 22:41-44 http://scriptures.lds.org/en/luke/22/41-44#41) Yes we believe that angels are people, either that have lived or will live. Yes we believe that Satan and his followers are fallen angels that will never live, Satan being their leader. And yes, we believe that Marriage should last longer than “til’ death do we part”. Any person that loves their spouse wants to be with them as long as possible.

Bill, Mormons do not believe in the Jesus of the bible and therefore are not followers of Jesus Christ. I’m not attacking you personally. I know that there are many kind, generous Mormon folks out there. But, I will continue to stand by my statement that Mormons are not Christians. Here’s just a few reasons to support my conclusion. I could give you pages, but I think Mr. Todd may object to a lengthy post. The Jesus the Mormons believe in is a different Jesus. According to Mormon theology, Jesus is the literal son of god and his goddess wife. He was born through physical sexual relations with Mary. Brigham Young taught that Jesus was not born with any involvement of the Holy Spirit. According to the Bible, Jesus is not the literal son of god and his goddess wife. He was not born through sexual relations. Mary was a virgin was Jesus was born. There is no such thing as a goddess wife. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). According to Mormon theology, Jesus is the brother of all spirits born in heaven. He is also the spirit brother of Lucifer. According to the Bible, Jesus is not the brother of all spirits born in heaven and he is not the spirit brother of Lucifer. Lucifer is an angel created by Jesus (who created all angels). Lucifer rebelled against God. Only those that do the will of the Father are considered spiritual brothers and sisters of Jesus (Mark 3:35). Jesus even told some Jews that their spiritual father was the devil (John 8:44). According to Mormon theology, Jesus was married and had wives. Thus, in Heaven, Jesus will continue to be married to his wives forever. According to the Bible, Jesus was not married and did not have wives. Jesus said there is no celestial marriage. “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). In Mormon theology, in the “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p. 370”, Joseph Smith taught that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist as 3 gods. The Trinity is three separate gods. According to the Bible, Jesus is not one of 3 gods in the godhead. The Trinity is 3 persons in one God. Jesus is God. There is only 1 God, but many false gods. According to Mormon theology, Jesus atoned for sin on the cross and in the garden of Gethsemene. Jesus’ sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, p. 247, 1856. According to the Bible, Jesus atoned for sin on the cross alone. His atoning death on the cross was able to cleanse all sins. Mormonism is a cult because they distort and twist the bible scriptures.

That “only begotten son” claim is just sooo boring, not to mention that trotting it out again and again blows away the credibility (outside their own church) of any one who makes the claim in the face of all the evidence that God has repeatedly sent us sons, via psychic insemination of virgins, to teach us how to live in right relationship, and that all of the sons were crucified to absolve us of our sins.

I worked on an apple farm in Creston many years ago and remember seeing those FLDS people peeling out of the driveway on the adjoining property, a dozen kids or more bouncing around loose in the back of their trucks like so many sacks of potatoes. A person I worked with said it didn’t matter to Mormons if some of their kids died because they have too many anyway, but I have met real Mormons and know that is untrue. Real Mormons do not act like those FLDS slavers and racketeers in Creston, and they are not child abusers like those FLDS twits. They are the only “Mormons” I’ve ever seen mistreating their kids, but they are the ones everyone thinks of when the word is uttered. Too bad these decent people are so often smeared with the dirt from the FLDS.

Mormons are law abiding citizens. In fact, it is stated in one of their Articles of Faith, which requires them to abide by the laws of the land they reside in. The main stream Mormons are not those FLDS members hiding in valleys and secret locations practising polygamy. Those keeping the practice were banned and excommunicated from the main-stream church over 100 years ago and their present day counterparts have nothing to do with the main-stream Mormon church. The news media tend to mix up (intentionally or unintentionally) or mess up the use of the word ‘Mormons’ . That is unfortunate. Mormons are meant only for the members of the main-stream church. The break-away sect is FLDS and they have no connection with the main-stream church. Every major religion has break-away sect, whether Christianity, Buddism, or Islam. It is important to distinguish one from the other, particularly the news media folks who are at the fore-front of information distribution.

The Mormons are Christians. They believe in God the Father who sent His only Begotten Son, our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ to come to this earth to redeem. It is His redeeming grace which will allow us mere imperfect mortals to be saved. We believe the Holy Ghost as the Comforter to help us coummunicate with God the Father in Heaven. These are all biblical truths Mormons adhere to. I don’t know which anti-Mormon books you read to get you facts about Mormon beliefs. These are no facts, but lies and untruths. That is why I consider a lot of these anti-Mormon posters are bearing false witnesses. Mormons never criticize other religions on the pulpits. We believe in modern revelations and restored doctrines such as ‘families can be forever’, ‘baptism for the dead’ etc, etc. But we respect other religions have truths of their own. We believe all religious beliefs are respected and Mormons are advised not to attack others’s religious beliefs. We just need to state what we believe, and let our actions speak for it. That is why Mormons even helped the suffering Muslims by sending plane loads of relief materials in the Indonesian quake & subsequent tsunami, working with Islamic relief organizations to help distribute the aids. The church also maintain a low profile in these humanitarian efforts and that is why most people outside the church don’t know about it. The world people should come to know which sects of Christianity are going about their religious approach wrong, preaching religous intolerance on their pulpits, spreading stereotype, hatred & alienation – all these are completely opposite to the teaching of Christ. This is a true story. Once a Mormon man went to a ‘Christian’ service to support his sister who attended that sect. But the pastor spent the whole time preaching about relligious intolerance, by attacking other religions on the pulpits which basically incites religious hatred and stereotype. When attacking the Mormons, the Mormon visitor realized so much of the so called facts are untruths & lies. But out of respect to the ‘Man of God’ on the pulpit, he did not rise to challenge him. After the meeting, he approached the pastorr and asked why he, as a man of God, would use so much lies to attack another religion. He was a bit shocked to be confronted, but said that most of the ‘facts’ were from reading anit-Mormon books, such as ‘God Maker’ etc. This book and many alike have been deemed full of untruths and false information by the Anti-Defamation League of America as well as newspaper like the Arizona Republic. Yet these books sell and perpetuate because there are enough willing souls who are more concerned about attacking others’ religions than respecting differences and co-existing peacefully and harmoniously. God the Father is love (John 3:16) and the Savior Jesus is Prince of Peace. So let’s learn to live in love and peace with each other. The warring world need true Christians to be ‘the lights of the world’.

Jon, stay far, far away from apologetics. It’s not your bag. Not particularly mine either, but your hyperbole is just embarrassing. Regarding the Bible, yes, y’all think it, (all exclusive groups) but it doesn’t look right in the light: ‘Yes, we believe in it, and we are the only ones who truly believe and practice its teachings.” Ouch! Your bro Raymond had you covered well enough.

The law in Canada should not be changed because of fundamentalist Mormons. The Mormons should be required to adhere to the legistated law of Canada regarding having more than one wife. Whether you are a Christian, or a Mormon (as I do agree there are differences) or whether you are an athiest or a Buddhist, the fact is that Mormons should be required to adhere to this law because if this law is changed, there are many other laws that could cause a moral slide in many ways. For example…who would want Canada to lessen their laws that would protect children from predators and pedophiles? No one in their right mind. In fact Mormons, claim to hold to moral ethics, but this absolutely denies such a claim.

Who hired this reporter? Did he really have an interview? The people who hired this guy sure messed up! Also, where do people get the idea that temples should not cost money? Have you read the Bible? Honestly… To me, seeing a religion that has a temple that is separate from normal meeting houses is an indication that the religion practices the same religion that we see in the Bible…tabernacle in the Old Testament, Solomon’s Temple in the New Testament. It should be the other way around. If your religion DOESN’T have a temple you might want to rethink things…that is unless you are content with your religions that fall way short of anything taught in the Bible. The Bible mentions baptism for the dead, the baptismal font on twelve oxen, etc. etc. etc. Read it. Seriously. Mormons practice many more teachings from the Bible than any other Christian sect does. As Joseph Smith once said when asked if Mormons believe in the Bible: Yes, we believe in it, and we are the only ones who truly believe and practice its teachings. And for the false notion that somehow God is not powerful enough to have called prophets in the ancient Americas or someone to translate the Book of Mormon…what made people in the holy land so special? Is God really limited by what you think he can do…or do you think maybe that God is powerful beyond your wildest imaginations? So if he wanted to call prophets wherever and whenever… he probably can…I don’t know. The New Testament even speaks to the fact that all of the books in the world could not contain all of the doings of Christ. I’m sure that what today’s “Christians” say what Christ and God can and cannot do have zero effect on what they really do. Its not hard… just read and understand. Understand that God is in no way limited to what you or your pastor want him to be. I’m sorry if you didn’t wan’t him to command his people to build temples…but its not for you to decide! This is exactly why people thing religion is the opium of the masses…because so many different Christian sects have conjured up so many versions of god in their imaginations that the whole Christian world seems to not even know who we propose to worship! I suggest you all stop thinking that you somehow control God, and realize that in fact you might learn something more about God by having an open mind and reading the word of God. These Mormon practices you all rant and rave about are deeply rooted in Biblical texts. They are not hard to see if you just read. Here’s a good site: mormon.org. The author of the article would do well to go to the source that he is reporting on if he is worth his salt.

@ Bill… Please don’t call yourself a Christian, because you are NOT. Mormonism is not Christian. Because Mormonism denies the biblical truth of who God is, who Jesus is, how forgiveness of sins is attained, and what the gospel is, the Mormon is not Christian — in spite of all his claims that he is Christian. The reason Mormonism is not Christian is because it denies one or more of the essential doctrines of Christianity. Of the essential doctrines (that there is only one God, Jesus is God in flesh, forgiveness of sins is by grace alone, and Jesus rose from the dead physically, the gospel being the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus), Mormonism denies three of them: how many gods there are, the person of Jesus, and His work of salvation. Definition of a CULT: A Cult is a religious group that follows a particular theological system. In the context of Christianity, it is a group that uses the Bible but distorts the doctrines that affect salvation sufficiently to cause salvation to be unattainable. A few examples of cults are Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Christadelphians, Unity, Religious Science, The Way International, and the Moonies.

One other point: Since the Haiti earthquake, several thousands of people, most of them not Mormons, are living in tents donated by the LDS Church on the grounds of six LDS meetinghouses in the Port au Prince area, and are being provided medical care by volunteer doctors, many LDS, who have set up clinics in the churches. One of the doctors was one of my neighbors, who is a member of the 3-man bishopric that leads my own LDS Church ward here in Richland, Washington. The Church is providing those people with building materials and guidance so they can build rudimentary shelters to protect them when the rainy season starts. All the local leaders of the LDS Church in Haiti, and most of the missionaries, are local Haitians, who are coordinating all of this relief effort. Heber J. Grant, who grew up as the son of a widow, and was president of the LDS Church from 1918 to 1945 (he was also the first LDS missionary in Japan), affirmed during the depths of the Depression that the Church would sell off its temples and other buildings before it would let its members go hungry. Rest assured that the building of LDS meetinghouses and temples does not detract from humanitarian aid to those in need, but instead actually facilitates it, as in Haiti.

Those trying to defame the Mormon faith as a ‘cult’ is based on what? They are just trying to set up a smoke screen to scare off people. What is a cult anyways? Is it one which causes you to leave your family after you join it? If that is so, then what do you make of monasteries, of monks and nuns of some of the world’s best known religions? Mormons have some of the strongest of families you will ever know. The best known is probably the Olsmonds, a large but tightly knit families despite them folks working in the entertainment world. There are millions of these strong Mormon families around the world. Mormons have served as cabinet secretaries in U.S. thevancouversunistrations of past presidents. Obama just sent a Mormon as the ambassador to China. Mit Romney, a former governor of Massachusettes, was a close runner up in the last Republican presidential nomination. Harry Reid used to head the democrats of the House (see, Mormons are not all John-Becks). There are mayors, senators, congressmen who are Mormons besides the doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, educators etc. So what is wrong with being a main-stream Mormon? A good family member, a contributing member of society, a responsible citizen, a good tax payer, as good as any major religions can produce. A cult? The public are no dummies to believe such vicious attack. If your claim that a cult is a religion whose doctrines are not the same, or slightly different than your religion, then you may as well say all religions except yours are cults. That is where religion intolerance (and violence) comes from. The Mormon founder, his brother, as well as many Mormon pioneers were killed by mobs incited by religious hatred. Many killings are happening in the world nowadays because of this religious intolerance & hatred. So please don’t spread this hate thing any more. Love, peace,harmoney, tolerance, forgiveness, compassions and selfless service are symbols of God’s love. Let’s don’t forget about that.

Raymond, Thank you for your comments. Well done. I found the information you provided to be very thoughtful and interesting. It’s always easier for people to focus on the negative side of anything. I guess it’s human nature.

Latter-day Saint temples are high quality buildings, because they are regarded as a house of God, a place binding heaven and earth. The cost of building them is a sacrifice willingly made by the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because they value the ordinances (such as eternal marriage) that are performed there. The temples are not used at all on Sundays. On the other hand, if you go to a regular Mormon meetinghouse, where the Latter-day Saints worship each Sunday, it is much more utilitarian and functional, with a chapel for worship services, a recreational hall with a stage for plays and a basketball floor, and various size classrooms, and a regular baptismal font. These meetinghouses are open to the public, Mormon or not. They typically house two to four LDS congregations, which have overlapping meetings each Sunday and also use the building during the week for Boy Scout and other meetings. It is also used for wedding receptions and funerals, and spaghetti suppers and talent shows. Mormon meetinghouses are not used to run day care centers or parochial schools. They are used for religion classes for high school students, early in the morning before school. There are no career clergy in the LDS Church. The bishop and his two counselors who lead a Mormon congregation (called a “ward”, based on geographical boundaries) are unpaid volunteers who serve for about 5 years and then go on to other callings. All the leaders and teachers for the adult women, the teenagers, and the children are unpaid volunteers. As are the leaders of reagional groups of wards, called a “stake of Zion” (referring to Isaiah’s picture of Israel in a single large tent). The most senior leaders of the LDS Church are people who had non-clergy careers, including lawyers, doctors, nuclear engineers, pilots, professors and university presidents, military officers, as well as business owners. Two of the most prominent historical leaders of the LDS Church in the 20th Century were Canadians, Nathan Eldon Tanner and Hugh B. Brown, as was John Taylor, successor to Brigham Young as LDS Church president. As for humanitarian concerns, the same Mormons who sacrificed to build the Vancouver Temple also fast on the first Sunday of every month and donate the value of those missed meals to a fund to help those in need. The LDS Church has a system of farms and food production plants that stock Bishops Storehouses throughout the Church, where food can be provided to the unemployed and can also be provided to people hit by disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile (both places with Mormon congregations). Each Mormon congregation works hard at helping people find employment. The church also operates a loan fund to help its members in less developed nations obtain the education they need to be sulf-supporting, and repay the loans so others can benefit. People who accuse Mormons of being “exclusive” are thinking of someone else. Half of the world’s over 13 million Mormons live outside the USA and speak languages at home other than English. A million Mormons are Mexicans, another million Brazilians. A million Mormons are scattered among nations of Asia, from Japan to Korea to Mongolia to Taiwan to Hong Kong to the Philippines to Indonesia to India. A quarter million Mormons live in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and other nations of Africa. Among the places with the highest percentage of Mormons are Polynesian nations like Tonga and Samoa. And “white” Mormons from Canada and theUSA go out at their own expense and spend two years of their lives living among all those people of every race and learning their languages and forming lifetime friendships. Mormons are generally just as well educated as their contemporaries in any nation. Mormons are overrepresented in North American university faculties, including in the sciences. A visit to Brigham Young University and its campuses in Idaho and Hawaii shows the racial diversity of the Mormons and the fact they live in an international milieu. You can walk down the street in Salt Lake City at lunchtime and ask for help in any of a hundred languages, and find someone who understands you, as visitors during the 2002 Olympics found. While Mormons don’t smoke or drink alcohol or have casual sex, they are more sophisticated than average about the world at large. One commenter atttacked the testimony of the 11 men who said they saw and handled the metal plates the Book of Mormon was translated from. All 11 were true to their affidavits to their dying day, even in the face of death threats. They were farmers who rose with the sun, worked outdoors in the heat or cold, lived with weather and uncooperative animals, unlike us, who live in artificial environments and get entertainment and information from glass screens and devices whose inner worksing are just black boxes to most of us. To claim those witnesses were out of touch with reality is itself a measure of how much people today have no concept of the real world. As incredible as you may think Mormon beliefs are, the people who hold them are real people who are as successful and intelligent as any in the real world, not mystics or hermits. They work in real jobs and raise real families and go out and sacrifice their time to help their neighbors, Mormon or not. You can get some insight into what motivates serious people to do that if you visit the temple for yourself with an open mind.

Don’t take it too hard Bill! Shaming abounds. Many of us on here have been told regularly that we are going to hell and going to burn up in a lake of fire. Now I don’t believe it, but sometimes it puts a damper on one’s day to get sent off to the fiery furnace. (I used to be a Christian for several years; now no longer); I try to find common ground and stay candid, if possible keeping channels of dialogue open with folks that have different beliefs.

Want to know truly what Mormon has done with disaster reliefs, look up in http://www.lds.org and not from those who seek to defame the religion. Mormons, besides helping the unfortunate themselves, also work with Red Cross, even Muslim relief organizations in earth quake and tsunami disasters. Trying to defame the Mormons where they have done so much good in humanitarian efforts is nothing but shame and injjustice.

There are so many lies and untruths said about the Mormon faith here, and as Christians we know who is the father of all lies. Don’t bear false witnesses as you are commanded. Don’t just read anti-Mormon books which are filled with lies and religous hatred and then think you know the religion. Those books are a big business, so the authors don’t mind which master they serve.

It hurts to see how poorly researched this article is, considering The Vancouver Sun is a print news source. Stating that the open house is an attempt to win over Canadians when it’s standard operating procedure and has happened for years as new buildings are erected. (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=LDS+Temple+open+house) The author also did not attempt to clarify the difference between a meeting house and a temple. A meeting house is for Sunday services and other activities open to everyone whereas a temple is for sacred ordinances meant to strengthen the spirit and redeem the dead. Also, how did this turn into a piece on Glenn Beck? The guy is a former radio shock jock with a TV show. His job is to say outrageous things that generate discussion. He is also a jerk, and guess what, there are jerks in every religion.

For those interested in a fuller and more correct explanation of temples and doctrine, I would refer you to http://www.mormon.org I chuckled when I read the reference to the “extravagant indoor pool”, which is an over the top description, to say the least. It is a sacred baptistry, not all that big in size – just big enough for 2 people to stand in – one to baptize, and one to be baptized, as did John to Jesus. Also, it is important to note that it is a major tenant of Latter-day Saints belief that deceased persons have the right to choose whether or not to accept any ordinance performed on their behalf. That is to say, it is not a forced act of conversion, as some may believe. As both a practising Latter-day Saint and a newcomer to this province, I am surprised at how much the media is focussing on the temple open house as a way to clear up misconceptions and to “work hard to show it’s wholesome face”, when in fact, it is tradition, and has been for many years, to hold an open house for the public. This is not new. I encourage all to take advantage of this opportunity to be a guest and tour the temple. Shut off your cell phone, log out of FB and experience calm, peace and quiet for an hour. It is not about the architecture or the crystal, but the beautiful fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith…Galatians 5:22) that may be felt there. God Bless. ps. Mr. Todd, please refer to the Church’s style guide (http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/style-guide) which would help in future pieces about the Church. For instance, polygamists aren’t Mormons, therefore best not to refer to them as such.

The history of the Mormons or, for that matter, any group, is relevant when it allows us to understand the underpinnings of the group. As Carolt has already mentioned, the LDS is not only a religion but a lifestyle. Also noted, it is a doctrine that is still being shaped (graciously referred to as ‘flexible’). The LDS Church is a well engineered business which continues to be polished while at the same time retaining a certain 19 century mentality. LDS presents a perfect model for a Time Share opportunity. Like a Time Share, its churches are grandiose and only available to members. Of course, it is the members that pay the compulsory maintenance fees and, thus, are able to enjoy the benefits. The fact that questioning Management is a not only frowned upon but a dismissal offence has to be overlooked for the common good. Like a Time Share, it is important to recruit new members to keep the business operational. Thus, the business part of the Church is very contemporary. The 19 century belief system still prevails often with embarrassing acknowledgement. However, changes such as removing plural marriages (a condition of statehood), accepting Afro-Americans, and acknowledging past atrocities has helped put a civilizing sheen on the system. Their sense of exclusiveness will likely never change. Their preference for autocracy is built into the system. Nepotism is also firmly ingrained. Thus, beneath a polished and polite exterior there is a perverted christian doctrine that blushes at the word ‘hypocrite’. However, this is the way of religion, is it not?

Jonn Mick @ his April 9 1:07 p.m. post makes a significant observation with his usual candour and colour, e.g. the verb “vomit” to describe religious observances. Still his valuable observation has to do with “values” and “actions” -vs- “beliefs” and “religion”. Father always used to preach “Actions speak louder than words”. Thus the act of helping Haitians re-build their country is the proper measure of existential virtue — not whether the carpenter or electrician or plumber doing the work is a Mormon, a Sikh, a Muslim, a Jew, an agnostic or an outright atheist. Where the line is crossed and the virtue is compromised is where the recipient of the charitable act is required to be exposed to some tutelage about the belief system of the doer — e.g. is required to sit through some outreach speech or service or sermon or prayers — as a condition of receiving the help or charity act. Which is not dissimilar to the “free Jeep offer” in Mexico — but only if you give their high-pressure time-share shills a 1/2 day of your time to harrangue you. Insofar as an individual who follows a religion turns their “belief” into “action” — when “opposition to gay marriage” turns into personal attacks on gays — then their acts would belie their alleged “virtue”. Folks can “believe” what they like. It’s their acts that define their true selves, however.

TT ESTY and et al: You will gain a better understanding of Mormonism by viewing the DVD – THE MORMONS, co-produced by American Experience and Frontline. Produced by Helen Whitney, ‘Its a portrait that neither vilifies the church nor extols it. She reveals that the Mormon story is an American story and that Mormonism is perhaps the most American of religions.” I obtained my copy from PBS. Cheers. Jonn Mick

CAROLT: Your comments about the general character of practicing Mormons express my observations too: “So what is the basis of their popularity? Lifestyle. Social power. They offer belonging and a Mom and Pop, Apple Pie view of America. Clean cut, clean living, good-looking, decent folk with good moral values and habits. They are a truly made-in-America religion. Eternal life with an installment plan. That’s extremely simplistic but as far as stereotypes go, reasonable.” My criticism of Mormonism is the same I have for all religions; They are man made fantasies based on human need to BELIEVE in something they think is good that they can accept and become a part of. And if their credo isn’t real its not of their concern. They’re a real PART of It. The Mormon hierarchy are pros, knowing how to sell and keep people involved and active. Making members real busy bodies. And like all religions, they claim to be the true church of God and work to influence by legislation how everyone should live life – their way. This disparages their character. They were/are firmly against Jews, gays, homosexuals, and until recently, black people. And prejudiced but tolerant toward most non-Mormons. Their doctrine is a potpourri of the same gobbledeegook, the kinds that all other religions vomit too, but harmless so long as its not taken seriously. Its unfortunate they don’t make it a good social club and leave religion out of it. Because, like Carolt points out, generally speaking, those who practice Mormonism are good citizens. Cheers. Jonn Mick

I love that the Mormons are opening their temple to the public before it is sanctified. Oh I know, there is the possibility of ulterior motives but I’d like to think it is an open-hearted gesture with no expectation of conversions. Perhaps I am naive. I’ve always been curious about temples I cannot enter — e.g. Pashupathinath in Nepal. I’d love to take a look at this new spiritual home. Thanks for letting us know about it.

This wealthy monument to what ever, is the biggest waste of money i have ever seen, any true religion would have given this substantial amount of money to the needy, this is an embarrassment to every good person that has given help too the needy… If there was a god, he would come down to Langley and bitch slap the people that put up this outrageous monument, and he would have feed people with the money you all wasted……. this is a perfect example of why all religions are for people that can not take care of themselves… you should all be very ashamed…

Mr. Todd is correct in that Smith never used a crystal ball. He used seer stones. These are stones that people claimed allowed them to see what cannot be readily seen, like lost articles. In the interpretation of the golden tablets he used crystal-like stones that he referred to as Interpreters. I think that the Church in Salt Lake City actually has one. All of this zippidy doo da stuff was acceptable in the early 1800 although Smith did get into some mischief with his seer stones and it sounds like he might have been a bit of a scammer but, of course, that’s a judgement from the 21 century. As for witnesses seeing the golden tablets, there were the three who Mr. Todd mentions and there were also another eight. Mind you the eight who signed the paper attesting to the vision may pr may not have been pressured to sign. They were all close family members. They actually claim to have touched the tablets. The other three were somewhat ambiguous as to how they saw the tablets. One of them, Harris, referred to it as a spiritual seeing – seeing them with a spiritual eye and not his real eye. Their ‘seeing’ did not make them devoted to the religion and after Smith assignation, they bounced around to different factions and religions. Again, from a 21 Century perspective, one would see them as simple men believing in the super natural and mysticism. The absence of a scientific foundation allows for that sort of delusion. The last point is the immigration to North America of the Nephites around 600 BC. These are the people who were visited by Christ after his resurrection. To this date no reputable archaeologist has found any evidence that such a group existed. It also might be useful to point out that Smith in writing the Book of Mormon was writing a prequel. The Church of his day (Catholic et al) had so strayed from the Truth that he was chosen to rectify this decline through his revelations of what the original church was to be. Finally, no discussion of the LDS would be complete without mention of Brigham Young. He gave substance and organization to the Church. He also was the main advocate for plural marriages. His fierce rhetoric on religious matters is seen as contributing to the massacre by Mormons of settlers who were moving through Utah on their way to California. The Mormons dressed as Indians attacked the settlers. When the settlers surrendered, the Mormons killed them and took the children and other goods and dispersed them among the other Mormons. Actually, Mormons were fairly used to violent times as they were found unacceptable in many of the places that they settled. The Massacre was looked on as vengeance for the killing of Smith.